Wow, the big six months!!

Happy Six Month Birthday, BabyBear!!!!



The six month stats are in...BabyBear is 14 lbs, 14oz and 26" long.

Honestly, I'm a bit bummed. That means he's only grown .5" and lost an ounce compared to our unofficial FOUR month numbers. This puts him in the 10th percentile for weight and 30% for height. Thankfully the Dr. said he looked fine and wasn't bothered by this. I think she said he's also in the 40th percentile for head size. He's starting on solid foods, so hopefully that will help plump him up a little bit. It appears he definitely inherited his Daddy's metabolism, not his Mommy's, which is probably a good thing.

The good news is the Dr said he's doing great, very alert and strong. He's passing all his milestones nicely and will likely have a tooth showing sooner or later. Here are some other things the "little man" is up to:

- he's much better in his sitting capabilities. We still have to sit behind him, to catch him if he falls, but he's learned to balance pretty well.
- he much prefers standing to sitting...maybe we put him in the jumper too much...
- he loves to sing along in the car with whatever is playing (SO CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
- he's sleeping much better at night, but is still taking short naps, which we're working on, but overall we're sleeping much better now than we were a month or so ago

He had his first taste of solid foods, yummy sweet potato! Stay tuned for more details on this in another post...

Huzzah for early Christmas presents!

BabyBear here... So I haven't even celebrated my first Christmas yet, but I've already got to open some Christmas presents -- what a sweet deal! Here's me helping Mommy open one of her presents at Aunt Kim and Uncle Josh's house last week.



For my first-ever Christmas presents, I got a new book (already read it; I read a lot) and my first motorized toy -- a Busy Ball Popper! It's great; here's a video Mommy recorded of us playing with it:



So much fun!!! Thanks Uncle Josh, Aunt Kim, J, E, R and P!

Thanksgiving 2009

Before we get any deeper into the Christmas season (or Advent, for you liturgical types), I guess we'd better recap Thanksgiving. :)

We went to my (Jeff's) mom's house in Houston for Thanksgiving this year (Wednesday-Sunday -- BabyBear's longest time away from home so far). Since my sister's in-laws do a big Thanksgiving celebration on Thursday, our family has in recent years taken to celebrating on Friday. That left Thursday wide open for us, so my mom babysat BabyBear while Bethany and I went to see "The Blind Side." We both highly recommend seeing it -- and not just because it was written and directed by a Baylor Bear!

Friday, we (Mom, me, Bethany, BabyBear, my sister, her husband, and their three kids) went to Aunt Sue and Uncle Vic's house in Sugar Land for the big dinner. Lots of fun there -- even took the kids to a nearby park after the big meal. Grams and Gramps provided this outfit for BabyBear to wear on the big day:

So cute! Saturday we just hung out at the house (digesting, I suppose), and then headed back to Waco Sunday. A very nice time with family. BabyBear did very well being away from home, sticking to his schedule pretty well and dealing nicely with the time we got off schedule. (Click here to see pics from the whole long weekend.)

Next up? Christmas in Miami -- less than three weeks!

Photos of BabyBear (extra cuteness no additional charge)

We'll get to recapping our Thanksgiving vacation in a bit, but first, we have pictures to share from today's BabyBear photo shoot with Baylor photographer extraordinaire Robbie Rogers (thanks again, Robbie!!!!).

Today was BabyBear's 5.5-month shoot (he doesn't turn six months for another couple weeks, but we needed to get photos done for Christmas cards!), and as usual, he was great in front of the camera. We had a tough time deciding on our favorite, so here's a link to a photo gallery of a whole bunch of shots of BabyBear. (We also took some family photos, but you'll have to wait for your Christmas card to see those.) Here's just a sample:

So cute!

Five Months Old Already?!

Wow, BabyBear is five months old already...for some reason five months sounds so much older to me than four months did.



This month has been a month of BabyBear learning to be more communicative and trying to tell us what he wants (like how much he really hates tummy time). Here are some of the things he's been up to:

- he mimics sound (yesterday, before Jeff left for work, he said to BabyBear, "I love you" and BabyBear responded right back, "AAAAAAAh UUHHHHHHH OOOOOOO." It was SO cute!)
- he's starting to reach for us when he wants to be picked up
- he's trying to sit up on his own, but isn't quite there yet
- he loves to stand with one of us holding his hips or hands for balance
- he is getting over his issues with the camera
- he's starting to settle into a more predictable routine

We're really excited about Thanksgiving and Christmas with this little guy. We get to spend time with our families and see the holidays through a whole new set of eyes. It will be great!!

Here's one more pic for all you internet fans, of our little reader:

Snapshots of My Day

(watching the birds in the bird bath)



(lots of smiles)



(practicing his birdcalls)



(Smiley baby!)

The Simple Woman's Daybook: November 2nd

Outside my window... GORGEOUS day! Sunny, bright blue skies...ah, I love this time of year in Texas.

I am thinking... it would be really nice if the Phillies could come back and beat the Yankees to take the Series this year...I REALLY do not want the Yankees to win (and yes I know, technically I'm from New York).

I am thankful for... the peace, hope, love, grace and mercy extended to me every day by my precious Lord and Savior

I am wearing... Blue jeans (did you guess it?), long sleeved green t-shirt, and FUZZY SOCKS!!!!!

I am remembering... how much I love our Lifegroup. They are not only a wonderful bunch of friends, but I'm so thankful to have them as "family" for my little boy.

I am going... to be giving my washing machine and dryer a run for their money today...lots of laundry!!

I am reading... UGH, I am so behind on my reading, but that's ok...I'll get there. Here's my pile at the moment:
Twelve Extraordinary Women by John MacArthur
The Vaccine Book by Dr. Robert Sears
The Supernatural Power of a Transformed Mind by Bill Johnson
Those plus various issues of Better Homes and Gardens that I haven't gotten to yet.

I am hoping... BabyBear's diaper rash goes away soon. I feel so awful...the night before last he and I were up multiple times and I didn't change his diaper often enough because that wakes him up and I was trying to get him to sleep. Because of my selfishness, he has a raging diaper rash that (after being prayed for last night) thankfully is looking lots better, but I still feel guilty for the pain my little man is feeling...

On my mind... There are so many things to be thankful for. I'm so blessed!!

Noticing that... the living room is SO much brighter when there's not a giant armoire in front of the window (we just sold it on eBay)...I love the sunlight!

Pondering these words... "Rome wasn't built in a day." Not sure who said it...

From the kitchen... Tonight we're having homemade-from-scratch swedish meatballs and noodles with spinach on the side...one of my favorites and also Jeff approved!

Around the house... laundry, work (got a new project in), tidying up the place and playing with BabyBear

One of my favorite things... chocolate...mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

From my picture journal...Fun colors!

Halloween: BabyBear edition!!

Since Halloween last year was something of a disaster, we decided we would start over this year and just pretend last year never happened. (I had spent many months working on our costumes, but when the day arrived, it ended up being the sickest day of my pregnancy combined with the most stressful/emotional day I have ever had work-wise. I had been so excited about our costumes and I wore mine for all of about 45 minutes, then took a bath and went to bed. Jeff was a trooper and a good sport and handed out the gum while wearing his costume.)

So, we pretended none of that happened and started over this year. Check out our fun costumes!! We even have BabyBear this year to complete the family!



We parked on our porch with our bowl of gum for a couple of hours and handed it out when the trick-or-treaters came. Sadly, we had less than 15 total, and about a third of those were questionably too old for trick-or-treating. However, it was fun nonetheless! (Click here for more pics.)

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Fun Times with Grams and Gramps!

This has been a very busy weekend for us here! Grams and Gramps came into town on Wednesday night and we spent the first few days just hanging out. We went to the zoo, which was a lot of fun! Here's a picture of Mommy and me at the zoo riding a stone horse!


Saturday morning, Grams, Mommy and I went to the Homecoming parade on campus at Baylor. We watched the parade with some friends Mommy hadn't seen in a while and had a great time! There were bands, floats, dancers, balloons and even one of the real Baylor Bears (couldn't tell if it was Joy or Lady)! I really enjoyed watching it from the comfyness of my own stroller.


I even got to wear a custom-made "Baby Bear" onesie that Daddy had made for me as a surprise to Mommy!


After the parade, Grams dropped Mommy off at the football stadium for the game with Daddy and Gramps. They were sad Baylor lost, but we couldn't have had a more perfect day weather-wise and everyone had a good time despite the game score.

After the game, we all came home and hung out together. Grams made one of Mommy and Daddy's favorite dinners, yum! It was a long, but fun day!


You can check out a photo gallery done by the folks at Baylor here.

Fun Things From Our Backyard: BabyBear Edition!

It's been a long time since I did a "Fun Things From Our Backyard" post, and it's not because of the lack of fun things. The day after we welcomed BabyBear into this world, my awesome neighbor offered to mow our yard and then called asked, "Did you know you have a family of ducks living in your backyard?" I didn't and after some discussion and much research (she's an entomologist and animal lover), she discovered they were Black Bellied Whistling ducks. I didn't get a good count, but it was a mom and maybe 12 ducklings who were just passing through on their way to the lake. Sadly, I didn't get any pictures because I was still recovering, but I did see/hear them and they were way cool. We heard more later on in the summer, but did not see them. But, I digress...

Today has been such a beautiful day that I thought I would take BabyBear outside for some playtime in the backyard. He LOVED it! Every time there was a breeze or wind blew by, he would laugh, smile and wave his arms and legs around...so cute. We heard and saw birds fly overhead and we watched the butterflies who love our white flowered bushes. Here's a video (sorry, it's a bit lengthy) of some of our play time:



Just in case you weren't aware, the Monarch butterflies are on their Fall migration to Mexico and happily decided to stop by (possibly after checking out the Texas State Fair in Dallas). I love that the people who lived in this house before us were so thoughtful as to plant to attract butterflies. They're so fun to watch and I especially love sharing it with BabyBear. Here are some pictures we took:




For fun, can you spot how many Monarchs are in this next picture? (scroll down for the answer)
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Here is the answer (I circled them in orange, click on the picture to open it in a bigger size...it's four!):
To top it all off, here is some random butterfly information that you may not know. All in all, had a really fun time playing in the backyard. Here are some fun shots of BabyBear for all you fans out there:
spit bubbles are fun indoors or out!


So that is what's going on here! Hope all is well with you!!!

The Simple Woman's Daybook: October 19th

FOR TODAY...October 19th Daybook

Outside my window... bright, sunny and 74 degrees outside. The Monarch butterflies have stopped over on their migration down south- they're beautiful!!!

I am thinking... how much my perspective on the world around me is changing since welcoming BabyBear into our family

I am thankful for... the previous owners of this house, that they planted to attract butterflies- I'm so glad they did!!!

I am wearing... jeans, black tank top and green hooded (Baylor) sweatshirt

I am remembering... the colors of fall living on Apple Drive in Exton, PA...those trees are hands down the most beautiful and colorful trees I have ever seen in the fall.

I am reading... still working on Twelve Extraordinary Women of the Bible by John MacArthur

I am hoping... to get the house cleaned (REALLY cleaned) before my parents get here

From the learning rooms... I'm learning how to sew baby clothes :)

Noticing that... we really need to get a bird feeder since our last one broke. I walked by the bedroom window yesterday and this gorgeous cardinal looked up at me as if to say, "Are you still going to feed us?"

Pondering these words... "He is no fool who gives up that which he can not keep to gain that which he can not lose." - Jim Elliot

From the kitchen... I've been trying a lot of new recipes lately in an effort to serve my family healthier, but tasty foods. This week, I've got a chicken & veggie pasta that sounds like it will be really tasty...we'll see.

Around the house... A friend is coming over for dinner tonight, then Lifegroup tomorrow night, then Mom and Dad are coming to visit Wednesday and staying through the weekend. It will be busy, but so fun!!

One of my favorite things... The scent of an apple cinnamon candle (we get the cheapy Glade kind) burning in the house during the fall season...MMMMMMM

From my picture journal... (last year- yes, it's a crab hat...definitely worth the $1 I spent)
If you would like to take part in The Simple Woman's Daybook, please consult Peggy at http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/ for details.

Guess who's four months old?

Ooh, I know this one! It's me, BabyBear!

As usual, no official height/weight numbers; I've got a doctor's appointment Wednesday to find those out. Unofficially, I'm 15 pounds even and I am 25.5" long. My local paparazzi captured a bunch of photos of me and Fred E. Bear this afternoon; this one's my favorite:



In the past month, I've been busy! Here are some highlights of what I've been up to lately:
-I LOVE to jump in my doorway jumper. I recently learned how to jump higher using my legs to push off the ground (rather than just bounce using my weight).
-I decided I like to suck my thumb sideways.
-I added some new sounds to my speech repertoire, including "bbbb" & "vvvv."
-I learned how to blow spit bubbles and I do this often!!
-I also learned how to play on my own for a few minutes.
-I also have rolled from tummy to back and back to tummy a couple of times.

My lobster and my Baylor taggie blanket remain my favorite things to carry around. I'm also enjoying all the fun places mom and dad are taking me (the fair, Burgers on the Berm, the Astros game, etc.). It's been a fun month!!

These are a few of my favorite things...Bum Genius!

I know, you're thinking, "Really Bethany? Cloth diapers are one of your favorite things? Wow, that's sad...," but hear me out on this. Not only do they save us a TON of money in the long run, but we're helping to keep some disposables out of the landfills and BabyBear has yet to deal with diaper rash!

A dear friend of mine used cloth diapers for her little ones and, after I found out I was expecting BabyBear, I started looking into them as a possibility on my own and was completely overwhelmed. There are so many different types! So, I told my friend about this and she kindly offered to show me the ropes and the different types and help me figure out which ones were best, if we decided to go the cloth diaper route. Now, I'll be honest...between the two of us (Jeff and I), one of us hadn't ever changed a diaper before and one of us hadn't changed one since high school, so if we did go with cloth diapers, it had to be easy. This dear friend and I spent a few hours going over the different types, what she found to be helpful and what she didn't and after talking with her, I decided that "Pocket" style diapers were probably going to be our best bet.

Pocket style cloth diapers can be found in a variety of forms, but basically they consist of a cover that you stuff with an insert (think pocket). When you wash them, you remove the insert, then wash it and the cover, then dry them. Once they are dry, then you stuff the insert back into the pocket for baby to wear again. You can even stuff multiple inserts into one pocket for more absorption, if necessary. There are lots of different types of pocket diapers, but we decided to go with the Bum Genius 3.0 brand.

We chose the Bum Genius 3.0 brand for lots of reasons:
* one diaper can be adjusted to fit a baby from 8 lbs to 35 lbs, so you shouldn't have to buy bigger sizes as the baby grows
* they're easy to use (velcro closures, they go on baby just like disposables)
* they come in fun colors (yes, I'm a girl and like to accessorize...even if it's on my baby boy)
* we could add them to our Target registry and buy them online using any Target gift cards we received

There were some other reasons as well, but these were the main ones. So, Jeff and I discussed it, decided we'd give it a go and built up our stash of Bum Genius diapers before BabyBear arrived. I think we've got about 28 of them.
Now, if you know me, you know that I can (unintentionally) complicate the easiest thing, so I was concerned that this would be one of my "great ideas" that sounded really good in theory, but would end up working out not so well. BabyBear was born at 7 lbs, 2 oz, so he was too small for them right away. Thankfully, friends had given us newborn sized disposables of which we used all but two before he outgrew them and grew into the Bum Genius. He's been wearing the Bum Genius now for almost three months and they are working out beautifully. They wash really well, go on just like disposables and are really soft. Yes, I do have to stuff them with inserts before BabyBear can wear them, but this takes 20 minutes at most and is totally worth it for the $ we save. As for stains, ten minutes in the sun and any stains that were there are totally gone...it really is amazing! I'll save you the before and after photo comparison that proves my point :)

We do still use disposables when I'm sick, or when we travel on occasion, so we're not totally green, but they were all given to us by friends, so I still have yet to have to go to the store to buy a pack of diapers. I am so thankful to my dear friend for that tutorial on cloth diapers and very grateful for my stash of Bum Genius diapers.

BabyBear at the fair...off Lake Air...how rare!

Sorry, I had too much fun with that title. This week the Heart O' Texas Fair and Rodeo is in town (off Lake Air Dr) and today from 4pm to 7pm, we could get in free if we presented a business card. So, we thought it might be fun to take BabyBear and just walk around and look at the animals, lights, rides, people, etc. We saw lots of cowboy boots, crazy lights on rides and got to spend some fun time in a petting zoo. Ben did great...he just took in as much as he could and then fell asleep. He was fighting to stay awake as long as he did though, I think he enjoyed it. Anyway, here are some pictures...

At the entrance to the fair, you could meet the blacksmith:
From there, we went to the petting zoo and met some goats (the pigs, sheep and llama didn't seem to care for us much- we didn't have food):
Then we took a walk around and looked at the rides...
Then he fell asleep:
And we went back home (we're ALL tired by this point):

We both agreed it was definitely worth it getting in free and I think it was a fun time for everyone!!!

The BabyBear Show: Bouncing Rainy Days...

Hello, all my internet fans. It's a rainy day here and I just thought I would practice my bouncing. Here's a clip (click here if you can't view the video below):



Hope all is well in your neck of the woods. Have a great day!

Snapshots from my last few days

Sorry I haven't been very diligent about getting BabyBear's tweets up the last few days...here are some pics that will hopefully make up for it :)

Snapshot of the day: Doorway Jumper Edition

BabyBear is having so much fun in his doorway jumper!! We're so thankful to Grandma L for this jumper, he's been having a great time spinning around and bouncing (& it let's mommy eat lunch- bonus!!). He's still slender, so we had to pad him a bit with blankets in it, but he loves it!

A Simple Woman's Daybook: September 28th

FOR TODAY...September 28th

Outside my window... a small red oak tree is growing, grass is starting to grow back and squirrels are dodging the traffic driving by.

I am thinking... of how blessed I am to be a WAHM (Work-At-Home-Mom) and how privileged I am to be the one God picked to care for BabyBear and raise him alongside my wonderful Jeff.

I am thankful for...the fact that BabyBear does NOT have an ear infection!

I am wearing... white flowy blouse, baggy blue jeans and socks (just got back from the grocery store, otherwise I’d be barefoot)

I am remembering... how much I like the flavor of Ginger…mmmmmm

I am going... to “Burgers on the Berm” on Friday with Jeff and BabyBear (hoooraay)!!

I am reading...Twelve Extraordinary Women of the Bible by John MacArthur

I am hoping... to get to the post office today so I can mail a box of baby goodies to a dear friend who is expecting.

On my mind... my family and friends who are not feeling well, it seems like there is definitely something going around. I'm praying they feel better soon!

From the learning rooms... I've been thinking a lot about BabyBear's education and seriously considering homeschooling him. I have to confess I'm intimidated, but intrigued at the same time!

Noticing that... it is so much easier to keep the house in order when I do it consistently than if I let it go and I try all at once to catch up…

Pondering these words... Live simply, work diligently, give generously.

From the kitchen... ran across this recipe for Applesauce Bread and am thinking it sounds really yummy!

Around the house... I need to finish stuffing diapers, swiffer the floors and put away the laundry.

One of my favorite things... is the fall in Texas, where the sky is huge and the brightest blue I have ever seen. The air is crisp, but not too chilly and the pecans are almost ripe.

From my picture journal... a photograph taken by my awesome sister-in-law Diane...

If you would like to take part in The Simple Woman's Daybook, please consult Peggy at http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/ for details.

BabyBear, Photography Star

Yesterday, we were again blessed to have a short photo session with Robert Rogers, Baylor's director of photography. Once again, we cannot thank you enough, Robbie! BabyBear did great, and though he wasn't in the mood to give one of his famous million-dollar smiles, we did get a lot of really great pics. Click here for some of the photos he took; below are a few of our favorites.